Giovanni Aldini

, whose treatise on muscular electricity he edited with notes in 1791.

He became professor of physics at Bologna in 1798, in succession to his teacher Sebastiano Canterzani (1734-1819). His scientific work was chiefly concerned with galvanism and its medical applications, with the construction and illumination of lighthouses, and with experiments for preserving human life and material objects from destruction by fire. He also engaged in public demonstrations of the technique, such as on the executed criminal George Forster at Newgate in London. He wrote in French and English in addition to his native Italian. In recognition of his merits, the emperor of Austria made him a knight of the Iron Crown and a councillor of state at Milan, where he died. He bequeathed a considerable sum to found a school of natural science for artisans at Bologna.

External links

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/farout/story/0,13028,1320888,00.html Sparks of Life] article about Aldini's experiments on an executed criminal

References

*1911

Further reading

* cite encyclopedia
last = Dibner
first = Bern
title = Giovanni Aldini
encyclopedia = Dictionary of Scientific Biography
volume = 1
pages = 107-108
publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons
location = New York
date = 1970
isbn = 0684101149